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focus on the Enterprise ."
    On the screen, the tumbling continued to slow. One end of the hexagonal cylinder was now pointing in the general direction of the Enterprise . It could not seem to eliminate a small, circular wobble, however.
    "Extreme power buildup, Captain," Spock announced.
    "Deflector screens up, Mr. Sulu," Kirk ordered.
    "Deflector screens up, sir."
    A moment later a concentrated beam of light lanced out of one of the openings on the end of the cylinder.
    "Laser discharge, Captain," Spock said calmly. "It appears to be attacking us."
    "So I noticed. Analysis, Mr. Spock."
    "Primitive laser weapon, Captain, similar to early Federation equipment, but more powerful and longer range than anything the Federation ever produced. It is much less effective, of course, than phasers of the same power. Also, unless the object can stabilize itself further, the discharge will not touch the Enterprise ."
    "Any other weapons indicated?"
    "None operational, Captain, though there appear to be a number of fusion devices in addition to the malfunctioning power source. They could be weapons, but if so, their propulsion systems are inoperative."
    "Can the laser be disabled without destroying the object?"
    "Since the object has no deflector screens, Captain, I would estimate that a phaser burst of approximately three-point-eight milliseconds would accomplish that objective."
    "Mr. Sulu, lock phasers on target."
    "Locked on, sir."
    Frowning, Kirk hesitated. On the screen, the object suddenly lost what little stability it had displayed and began tumbling end over end, the laser beam flailing even more wildly through space than before.
    "Indication of further malfunction, Captain," Spock said, speaking rapidly. "The output of the power source is increasing exponentially. Overload and consequent instantaneous conversion to energy of all antimatter will occur—"
    Spock's voice cut off as the forward viewscreen erupted in a flash of light. The Enterprise , though safe behind its deflector screens, shuddered before the massive release of raw energy.
    "—occurred five-point-nine seconds ago," Spock concluded when the deck had steadied once again.
    "Damage report," Kirk snapped. "Engineering."
    "Momentary overload to deflector screen circuits, sir, but no apparent permanent damage," came the voice of MacPherson, Scott's chief assistant.
    "Tell him I'm on m'way, Captain," the chief engineer called over his shoulder as the turbolift doors hissed open and he stepped in. "Just ta be on the safe side."
    Kirk complied as he listened to the other sections report in, slowly relaxing as it became apparent that, aside from a brief shakeup, the explosion had produced no lasting consequences anywhere on the Enterprise .

 
Chapter Three

    IN HIS STATEROOM, Dr. Jason Crandall still sat in the chair where Kirk and McCoy had left him minutes before, but now, instead of slumping in despair, he sat bolt upright, his fingers white-knuckled as he gripped the edge of the desk and waited for the next tremor to rumble through the ship.
    What now? his mind screamed in silent fury and terror. What in God's name are they doing to me now? He started to rise to his feet, but the trembling in his knees stopped him, and he dropped back into the chair, letting despair grip him once again. Whatever was happening, it didn't really matter what he did. He was beyond help.
    Several lifetimes, that brainless captain had said!
    Several lifetimes at maximum warp factor to get back to the Federation and earth! And even that was possible only if, by some miracle, they managed to find out where earth was! The only bright spot, he thought bitterly, was that, with any luck, he wouldn't last out the decade.
    As far as his friends and family—for once in his life, he was glad that he had not married—he was as good as dead right this minute. Dead and buried in a four-hundred-man, warp-drive coffin several lifetimes away from everyone and everything he knew. Everything